§ 78-176. Sign standards and regulations.
(a)
Temporary signs. Temporary signs are allowed throughout the city, subject to restrictions imposed by this and may consist of either ground-mounted, building-mounted or small billboard type signs. The chief building or zoning official shall determine the nature of any sign presented as to whether it may be considered temporary. Temporary signs shall include, but are not limited to: bulletin boards, contractor signs, development signs, real estate or rental signs, yard sale signs and wind signs. The following shall apply to temporary signs:
(1)
Small billboard signs which are used for the sale of a parcel or parcels of land, or to announce a construction project in progress, shall not exceed 32 square feet in area and ten feet in height. Such signs shall be allowed for a period not to exceed 24 months and must be removed thereafter.
(2)
Political campaign signs shall not exceed eight square feet in area and two feet in height. Such signs shall be removed within 30 days after the election for which it was placed. Only one sign is permitted per candidate per property.
(3)
Temporary signs on residentially zoned parcels, except on parcels zoned RM-1 and RM-2, shall be allowed a maximum of two temporary signs not to exceed an aggregate of ten square feet in area with any sign not greater than six square feet and four feet in height. Unless otherwise allowed under subsection (1), such signs shall be allowed for a period not to exceed 60 days, except real estate signs, and must be removed thereafter.
(4)
Temporary signs on parcels zoned RM-1 and RM-2 shall be allowed a maximum of four temporary signs not to exceed an aggregate of 16 square feet in area with any sign not greater than six square feet and four feet in height. Unless otherwise allowed under subsection (1), such signs shall be allowed for a period not to exceed 60 days, except real estate signs, and must be removed thereafter.
(5)
All parcels in the B and IN zoning districts are allowed one square foot of signage per ten feet of public right-of-Way frontage not to exceed an aggregate of 100 square feet in area with any sign (maximum four temporary signs) not to exceed 32 square feet in area and eight feet in height. Signs must be spaced at least 100 feet apart. Unless otherwise allowed under subsection (1) such signs shall be allowed for a period not to exceed 60 days, except real estate signs, and must be removed thereafter.
(6)
Temporary signs indicating the grand opening of a new business shall only be allowed for a maximum of 30 days and only after a permit application for any permanent sign associated with the new business has been applied for to the city.
(7)
Temporary signs for uses such as fairs, carnivals, circuses, revivals, sporting events, or any public, charitable, educational, holiday or religious events or functions shall be allowed for a maximum of 30 days. Such message shall be removed within five days after the special event.
(8)
Banner signs. These include flag, sail, teardrop, feather banner signs or other similar freestanding banner signs. The size of each sign shall not exceed 30 inches in width at the sign's full extension. The permitted maximum height of the sign is 15 feet as measured from the ground to the top of the sign when installed. Signs shall only be installed on the landscape buffer along the front property line, entirely within private property excluding the swale area. No portion on the sign or support structure shall be located or encroach into or over the right-of-way.
a.
Installation. Banner signs shall be installed as follows: (1) no less than 15 feet from one another, (2) no less than ten feet from the side property lines, and (3) out of the sight-triangle, clear vision, or sight distance areas at intersections of public streets or public streets and private driveways.
Signs shall be firmly affixed to the ground and supported solely by the sign's support structure as designed by the sign's a manufacturer, such that it does not fall, fold, sag, bend, or collapse. Signs shall not be attached to any portion, part, or surface of a building, monument, or any other structure.
b.
Application for banner sign. Banner signs are permitted only upon an application for placement. The application must be made by applicant upon a form provided by the city and the application must include the written approval of the property owner. No off-site advertisement by banner sign is allowed. The property owner shall acknowledge that any violation of these provisions can be enforced against the property owner in addition to the applicant. As part of the application, a sketch of the proposed location must be submitted for review by the planning and zoning department together with a fee of $50.00 per sign. Any additional display period allowed as provided herein shall also require an additional fee of $50.00 per sign.
c.
Construction and maintenance . All banner signs and any supporting structure or hardware must be made of durable material capable of withstanding the outdoor elements for the period of time allowed to be displayed. Banner signs shall not contain any tears, tattered edges, stains or other signs of wear. Any banner sign that is broken, damaged or in poor condition will be deemed an abandoned sign and must be removed within 24 hours' notice by the city. All banner signs must be removed and safely stored indoors whenever the public is instructed by a qovernment authority that weather conditions require the storage of any loose items or materials as a result of an impending storm or other weather system.
d.
Enforcement . All banner signs must be removed immediately upon the expiration of the permitted display period. Failure to comply with any requirement set forth in these requlations shall be enforced pursuant to chapter 78 herein and any other remedy available pursuant to city ordinance, city code, or Florida Statutes.
(b)
Permanent signs.
(1)
For detached single family dwelling units, signs indicating the name and address of a property, or occupant, are exempt from the provisions of this article so long as such signs do not exceed two square feet in area. Only two such signs per parcel are allowed.
(2)
For attached and multifamily dwelling units, a monument identification sign, not exceeding ten square feet in area and six feet in height above the lot grade (columns may be higher subject to design review), nor closer than ten feet to the front or street side lot line shall be allowed. Said sign shall indicate only the name and address of the building or development and the name of management (if applicable). If the parcel is a corner lot two such signs, one facing each street, shall be permitted. In addition to the permitted monument signs, one sign for each street frontage may be installed flat against the main wall of a building, each wall sign shall not exceed 20 square feet in area.
(3)
For all parcels in the B and IN zoning districts, signs shall be permitted if in accordance with the following regulations:
a.
A monument identification sign, not exceeding 32 square feet in area and six feet in height above the lot grade, nor closer than ten feet to the right-of-Way shall be allowed. If the parcel is a corner lot two such signs, one facing each street, shall be permitted. Said sign shall indicate only the name and address of the building or development or tenant names and the name of management (if applicable).
b.
In addition, wallmounted signs (uniformly placed) for each storefront or bay shall be allowed. These signs shall be no greater than ten percent of the gross area of the front facade of each storefront or bay.
c.
Professionally made window signs are allowed which indicate the business identification, a message or hours of operation. The maximum total coverage shall be ten percent of the total window area.
d.
Although discouraged by the city, an application for a variance to allow a pole mounted sign may be submitted to the city.
A pole mounted sign shall be no higher than the roof line of the building on the parcel on which the sign is located or 30 feet, whichever is less.
e.
No signs pertaining to any entity on a particular parcel of land shall be located on any other parcel or in the public right-of-Way.
(4)
Entrance features designed and constructed as an integral part of any entrance beautification to a development shall be permitted. The design of the entrance feature, including any signs, shall be approved by the city as part of a site plan review. However, if an entrance feature application is submitted separately, the entrance feature shall be reviewed and approved in the same administrative manner as a site plan review. See also section 78-96.
(5)
Signs for schools, places of worship, or other institutional uses of a similar public or semiprivate nature may be erected and maintained, provided the following regulations are complied with:
a.
The size of any sign shall not exceed 12 square feet.
b.
Not more than one sign shall be placed on a property unless the property fronts on more than one street, in which event two signs may be erected, one on each frontage.
(6)
Directional, traffic or warning signs designating entrances or exits to or from a parking area, or designating the conditions of use or identity of the parking area shall be permitted. On corner lots, two signs shall be permitted, one facing each street. Such signs shall be limited to a maximum of two square feet each.
(7)
Time-temperature-date signs are permitted in all nonresidential zoning districts. These signs shall be kept accurate and shall be counted as part of the allowable sign area.
(8)
No more than three flags or insignias of governmental, religious, charitable, fraternal or other organizations may be displayed on any parcel of land. The maximum height of a flagpole shall be 50 feet. The height of a flag shall be no more than ten feet from top to bottom.
(9)
Public utility signs that identify the location of underground utility lines and facilities, high voltage lines and facilities, and other utility facilities and appurtenances are permitted so long as they do not exceed three feet in height and the sign face one-half square foot.
(c)
Permanent sign standards.
(1)
Sign area.
a.
Shall be calculated as the area within the smallest square, rectangle or parallelogram within which the sign face type is located.
b.
Where a sign is composed of letters or pictures not enclosed by a border or trimming, the sign area shall be the area within the smallest square, rectangle or parallelogram, the sides of which touch the extreme points of the letters or pictures.
c.
Where two sign faces of identical size and shape are placed back to back on a single monument identification sign structure, and the faces are at no point more than two feet apart, the sign area shall be calculated as the area of one of the faces.
(2)
Facade area. The facade area shall be measured by determining the gross area of the front facade of each storefront or bay including roof areas which have slopes of greater than 45 degrees.
(3)
Sign height. The height of a sign shall be determined by the vertical distance from the base of the structure to the top of the sign.
(4)
Sign width. The width of a sign shall be determined by the horizontal distance between the extreme points of the sign face or letters.
(5)
Number of signs.
a.
In general, the number of signs shall be determined by the number of noncontiguous sign faces. Multiple contiguous sign faces may be counted as a single sign if all the sign faces are included in the geometric figure used for determining the sign area.
b.
Where a sign has two faces, placed back to back, of identical size and shape it shall be counted as one sign.
(6)
Distance between signs. The minimum required distance between signs shall be measured along street rights-of-way from the closest parts of any two signs.
(7)
Illumination standards.
a.
No illumination from any sign shall obstruct or impair the vision of passersby.
b.
Illuminated signs shall not have lighting mechanisms that project more than 18 inches perpendicularly from any surface of the sign.
(8)
Placement standards. No sign greater than two feet in height shall be located within the sight vision triangle. No sign shall be located closer than ten feet from the public right-of-Way.
(9)
Clearance standards.
a.
All signs over pedestrian ways shall provide a minimum of seven feet, six inches of clearance.
b.
All signs over vehicular ways shall provide a minimum of 14 feet of clearance.
(Ord. of 9-25-06; Ord. No. 2015-06, § 1(3), 8-4-15)